Earthdome
by Jason Bond
Summary: Babylon 5 done West Wing style, as the Santiago administration of the Earth Alliance is detailed in the year 2258.


Earthdome

Chapter One

Election Night

Glasses clinked together as the champagne flowed freely in the Samaranch Ballroom of the Barcelona Hilton, celebrating the re-election victory of Luis Enrique Santiago to another term as president of the Earth Alliance. The Progressive Conservative campaign headquarters had exploded less than an hour ago when the Liberal Democratic candidate, Marie Crane, conceded the election after the results from the outer colonies were not enough to overcome the strong showing that Santiago had on Earth.

Campaign Manager Garrison Hollifield made his way through the chaos and cacophony of the party over to General William Hague, who was standing by himself sipping a fine Kentucky whiskey, but looking like he had just had a bad batch of mountain moonshine.

"Evening, General Hague. Enjoying the party, I see," said Hollifield with a wry grin on his face and an arched eyebrow.

Hague sighed, understanding the sarcasm. They had been friends for years after Hollifield had left Earthforce to assist then-vice-president Santiago with the Babylon Project after the Earth-Minbari War. Hague had overseen the Earthforce end of the construction as a colonel, while Hollifield had taken care of the civilian side of things.

"Garrison, shouldn't you be up there with all the other politicos, smoozing around and basically being friends to people who you would like to stab in the back when the chance arises," replied Hague, which won him an arched eyebrow from Hollifield, who was a bit of a conniseur of sarcasm.

"Nah, I deal with those people day in and day out. Hell, these last few months since I stepped down as deputy foreign minister to help run the damned campaign, all I've wanted to do is to get to this night, regardless of the result, so I can head out tomorrow back to North Carolina for a long vacation with my wife."

"How's Vanessa doing, by the way? Still deep into those book of medieval literature," replied Hague with a chuckle, because his own wife was a university professor at Geneva University as well.

"She's been grateful for the distraction of preparing scholarly reports and preparing for the new semester. We've not seen each other lately because of the campaign, and things have been kind of tense at home when we have had a chance to spend time together."

Just then, the outgoing vice president, Sarika Housi, walked over to the two men. The Arab woman wore a very unorthodox red Indian sari made of Chinese silk, which was a contrast to her long jet black hair. She had decided to give up her political life after thirty years in Earthdome, the home of the government of the Earth Alliance, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Evening, General. Garrison. Wading through the pandemonium of victory in a safe harbor, I see," said Housi.

"You could say that. So how's it feel to get out from under the Dome after all these years in global government," asked Hollifield.

Housi sighed and said, "Part of me is glad that I'm leaving, but another part wishes I'd stayed in, considering whom the president appointed to replace me." With a slight jerk of her head, she gestured over to another side of the room, where the new vice-president, William Morgan Clark, was chit chatting away with his supporters.

Hague looked into his empty whiskey glass and contemplated for a moment. "Why the hell did Santiago choose _him _of all people to be the new veep? I've known my fair share of slimy politicians in my time, no offense to the two of you, but he seems to have been dredged from the deepest muck at the bottom of the most vile pit of it in galactic history."

Souri nodded and added, "It doesn't help he was endorsed by the Psi Corps, despite their charter forbidding political endorsements. I've told you before that I worry about all the power that they've been gathering as of late." She looked over at Hollifield and asked, "Sucks that your mom is the director of Psi Corps, considering what you went through."

Hollifield nodded and said, "Yeah, I know. Amazing what getting telepathic abilities will do to a person, ya know? But that's a discussion for another time, because I'd rather not focus on the bitch that is my birth mother tonight. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go see the president." He walked away as Hague and Housi watched him depart.

"You know, with everything I sense coming in the near future, I'm glad he's on our side.," said Housi, to which Hague could only nod.

Santiago spotted Hollifield walking towards him and gestured to accompany him to a side room. The presidential security detail escorted the two of them through a back passage to another nearby conference room which was empty at the moment, but had been home to a plethora of staffers tracking the election results earlier. The place was a mess, but there was a fresh pitcher of water at the main table, and Santiago took two plastic cups and filled them with the ice water.

Handing one to his campaign manager, he said, "So, Garrison, what is to become of you after all of this? You haven't told me what you want to do next."

Hollifield nodded and said, "Frankly, Luis, I don't know. I just need a break, I know that for sure. Ever since the war, I've been so entwined with government…"

"I know. President Levy always saw you as her protégé, even though you were just captain of the presidential guard. God rest Elizabeth's soul, but I'm glad she's not around to see what's coming over the horizon."

Hollifield looked up at Santiago with a bit of a confused look on his face. "That's the second time I've heard that tonight. Granted, I've been busy with the campaign and all, but it's not like I'm totally naïve with scuttlebutt in Earthdome."

"Normally, Garrison, you aren't, but on this, you are. Don't worry, you're in the majority on this.," said Santiago, whose expression got very haunted as he sipped water from the cup.

"What's going on, Luis," Hollifield asked.

Santiago put the cup down on the table, sighed, and began to reveal his fears about the future. "I didn't want Clark as my vice president, but the far right wing of the party wanted him, and with the closeness of the election, we needed someone who could appeal to middle America, the heartland of Russia, and the rural parts of China. You know this as well as I do, but there's something more sinister at work here."

Santiago took out a small device out of his coat pocket and activated it. It was a jammer, and it made a soft whining sound as it powered up to jam any and all bugs that might be, and probably were, inside the room. "Clark represents a side of politics I never thought I would live to see. They are almost xenophobic, in a way, with their distrust for alien cultures and alien governments. He reminds me of that old American vice president, Dick Cheney, and how he was seen as the real power in the Bush White House at the dawn of the twenty-first century."

Hollifield nodded, replying, "I know. I did my senior thesis on that administration and its impact on the world in the first half of the century. But all he was interested in was lining the pockets of fat cats friends of his and placating the neo-conservatives and the religious right. What's Clark's angle?"

Santiago snorted and said, "What else? Power. He wants to be president, but he didn't have the balls to run against me. He knew the party wouldn't go for him, so he twisted enough arms in the leadership…mine own included…to put him on the ticket with me."

"Why'd you go along with it?"

"Because if I hadn't, he might have caused all sorts of chaos at the party convention in Sao Paolo last July. Garrison, this man is like Bush, in that he's more of a figurehead than a true leader. He knows he's being used by others for their own self-interests, and, like Bush, he does what he does willingly. But Bush was not nearly as sinister or Machiavellian as Clark is, because Bush just wanted to make America more like the neo-cons and the evangelicals wanted. Clark's agenda is much darker and much more deeper."

Hollifield shook his head, "Then why did the party leadership put him in that position? If he's as bad as you say he is, then why give his radicalism a chance to establish itself?"

Santiago sighed and said, "It's not like I had much of a choice. Most of the party leadership backed Clark, and they hope he runs for my office in five years' time. They are tired of the expense of keeping up Babylon 5 and of maintaining close relations with foreign governments. Senator Hector Sanchez said the other day in the Mexican media that we've allowed way too much alien influence into Earth culture, and you know how tight he is with Clark."

Hollifield walked away, scratching his head, but turned back to Santiago after he had gotten halfway across the room. He walked back to him, exasperated, and said, "This all sounds like those crack conspiracy theories that I heard about from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries! Don't tell me you think Clark is conspiring to overthrow you or something?"

Santiago looked him dead in the face and said, "Garrison, that is _exactly_ what I think he's up to. Which is why I need you beside me. I want you to be my chief of staff."

Hollifield replied, "Why me? Why not Pierre LaForge? He's been with you since the beginning ages ago!"

"Because you have that special gift that we need not talk about here, and I need that gift on my side in the next administration! Garrison, things are heading towards a nexus, and the decisions that we make will either shine us with glory or damn us with darkness for generations to come.

"I know this is too much to comprehend at the moment. All I can ask for you to do now is to trust me and take this job. I know your wife will be pissed at you for taking it, but I need you to do this, and Earth needs you to do this."

Hollifield was clearly struggling with the decision and said so, asking, "Can I have a couple of days to think about this? You won't get sworn in for a couple of weeks, so LaForge can handle things until I've made my decision."

Santiago nodded, "You have 72 hours, Garrison, to think it over. I need an answer sooner than that, but I'll take what I can get. Now, let's get back to the party. We must keep up appearances, you know?"

As they reentered the ballroom, Clark watched them from the mezzanine above the main ballroom. He had sent his wife and kids down to the floor to mingle, which gave him a chance to meet with a close confidant that had helped him ascend to power. He was relatively new to politics, but had proven to be an essential asset to his plans, as well as those of his supporters.

"Good evening, Mr. Vice President-Elect, and congratulations," said the dark haired male in a stylish gray suit.

"Why thank you, Mr. Morden! And thanks to your associates! Now that we've won, it's time to set Earth to rights," replied Clark, who poured himself a whiskey and offered one to Morden, who waved it off.

"Suit yourself. So what is it that you want on this merry night," said Clark, who gulped down some of the alcohol.

"Funny you should ask that, because I was going to ask you the same question. What do you want?"

Clark looked at him curiously and asked, "Do you _really_ want to know?"

Morden nodded and said, "Yes. My associates and I would really like to know that."

Clark sipped some of then whiskey this time, then said, "Well, in that case…" And so Clark told him, and the dark road towards the Shadow War would come through the heart of the Earth Alliance, and Clark would be the mastermind of it all.


End file.
